Water forms on new basement walls

Q. Our new house has water on some of the basement walls. The builder says it is condensation from humidity. It is on the above ground portion of the concrete basement walls. Is this common with new construction?

A. Yes, it is. Concrete exudes a lot of water because it requires about twice as much water to pour it in place for it to cure properly.

It takes one to two heating seasons for the excess moisture generated by the entire construction process to dry. In your case, the moisture appears only at the top of the concrete walls because it is colder above grade than it is below.